In a revelation that speaks volumes about his unwavering commitment to the craft, Kevin Costner has disclosed that he filmed his upcoming Western epic, Horizon, in a staggeringly short timeframe – half the duration it took him to bring his seminal masterpiece, Dances With Wolves, to the silver screen.
During an exclusive conversation with Collider’s Steve Weintraub ahead of Horizon’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Costner delved into the arduous yet exhilarating journey of bringing his ambitious vision to life. The actor-director, who co-wrote and co-financed the film series, emphasized the need for practical effects on a grand scale and a crew prepared to face challenges unlike any they had encountered before.
Recounting a sequence involving real fire, Costner painted a vivid picture of the extreme conditions his team endured. “It’s hard. It started getting cold right around then. It hadn’t been over 100, and when we were shooting that scene, the water was freezing,” he recounted. “We had to have a tank out there in case there was a fire, but the water froze in the tank, so we couldn’t put out any fire.
So, it was unlikely we were gonna burn anything down to begin with. But when you’re out there in the real [world], we’re making a six-hour documentary of the making of these four movies, and we are in complete windstorms. We’re in monsoons out there trying to make a movie. We’re out there with our picks trying to clear the snow in order to do a scene because there’s no snow.”
Costner then dropped a bombshell revelation, highlighting the breakneck pace at which Horizon was filmed: “I shot Dances with Wolves in 106 days; we shot this movie in 52. It’s arguably bigger than Dances.”
For Costner, whose affinity for the American West has been a recurring theme throughout his illustrious career, Horizon represents a homecoming of sorts. After the resounding success of Dances With Wolves, which earned him numerous accolades, including Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards, the actor-director seems poised to push the boundaries of his craft once again.
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By tackling Horizon with such breakneck speed, Costner not only demonstrates his unwavering dedication to bringing his vision to life but also sets the stage for a potential cinematic triumph that could surpass even his most celebrated work. As the first part of Horizon arrives in theaters on June 28, followed by the second installment on August 16, audiences can brace themselves for an epic Western saga forged through sheer determination and an unwavering love for the genre.
